This is Us
This is Us premiere had a surprising ending. Pictured: The poster for This is UsFacebook/This is Us

This Is Us was one of the most anticipated series this fall, and it doesn't fail to deliver. The show by Dan Fogelman introduces viewers to four strangers who are celebrating their 36th birthday.

The pilot opens with Milo Ventimiglia's character Jack waiting for a sexy dance from his heavily pregnant wife Rebecca, the character played by Mandy Moore. But Rebecca's water breaks before things get hot and heavy between the couple, and she is taken to the hospital to deliver their triplets.

Viewers are next introduced to Randall (Sterling K. Brown), who is heading some sort of a business. Randall is also celebrating his 36th birthday and private investigator had just informed him that his dad, an addict who left him at a fire station, has been found. Randall decides to meet his biological father and give him a piece of his mind. But when William admits that he barely recalls abandoning Randall as a baby, Randall makes the decision to make William a part of his family.

Next up are Kate and Kevin, siblings who are also celebrating their birthday. Kevin is a successful television actor, but early on in the episode it becomes obvious that he wasn't enjoying his work. His sister Kate is overweight and dealing with self-esteem issues, and according to her, the only good thing in her life is Kevin.

The Twist: Towards the end of the pilot it is revealed that the show is functioning on two different timelines. Kevin, Kate and Randall are celebrating their birthdays in the present day, and Jack was celebrating his birthday 36 years ago. Also, Kevin, Kate and Randall become Jack and Rebecca's triplets.

Where does the story go from here? According to Fogelman, the next episode will see yet another time-jump where the children are eight years old.

"The structure of the show is very similar in the coming weeks in that it's interconnected stories. We have four main stories as our main storylines," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "We'll be cutting back and forth between those the same way that we do in the pilot. They start commenting on each other because of the way the series progresses and all the stuff that happens in the pilot.

"So Mandy and Milo's story is the story of a young couple raising a family, but that storyline will jump around in time. It won't just be the couple taking the babies home from the hospital, it's going to be the story of marriage and family. The pilot may have ended with them having the babies, but the second episode starts in 1988 and you see them eight years after having those kids. Then the third episode will go right back to the day they brought the babies home from the hospital."

This Is Us airs Wednesdays on NBC. The show will premiere on Star World Premiere HD on September 24.